In case you missed this post on the main website... Why do we program the way we do? There seems to be a lot of questions on this topic of late. Why so much strength? Only 3 movements again? Whats with all the time caps lately? These are all things that the coaches are hearing. In order to understand the answers to these questions you need to understand CrossFit and its core concepts. When Coach Glassman co-founded CrossFit he created a 3 part model to define fitness. 10 Physical Traits, the 10 Physical traits that compromise being fit. Hopper, implying that fitness requires the ability to perform well at all tasks. Energy Pathways, shows fitness requires the efficient use of all 3 major energy pathways must be developed. We will expand on these in later posts but for now understand that our definition of fitness requires the development of Cardiovascular/Respiratory Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy (10 Physical Traits). The expression of these 10 Physical Traits is the ability to perform all manner of tasks, many of which can and will be unknown and unknowable (Hopper). Think of real life, everything from helping a friend move to saving a child from oncoming traffic. These are situations that you do not specifically train for but require a certain level of fitness. Lastly we must be developed both aerobically and anaerobically (The expression of our Energy Pathways). Why is all this important, and what does it have to do with 4 days of strength training a week and MetCons that have time caps under 15min? Im getting there, I promise. But for now bear with me. So as CrossFit developed a workable definition of fitness it became important for two major reasons. The first of which is it laid a framework in which fitness can be measured. If you can measure something (like fitness) you can create a vastly more effective program to increase and develop that fitness. The second reason all this is so important is because fitness correlates into health and wellness. What this means is the that every measurable value of health can be placed on a continuum that rages from sickness to fitness. This means that FITNESS EQUALS HEALTH. Which really is the goal for 99.9% of us, isnt it? To be as healthy as possible for as long as possible? Ask yourself why you want to lose those 10lbs, run that 1/2 Marathon faster, or have a better Fran time. I mean really ask yourself WHY? Ill wager that for most of us when you dig down into why we are doing what we are doing its because we want to be healthy, and we want to sty that way for as long as we can. So if we can agree that being healthy is really our goal and weve shown how optimum health and fitness are equal we should be able to agree that we want a training program that will elicit the most efficacy, in the most efficient and safe manner as possible. Fortunately theres a prescription for that. WORLD CLASS FITNESS IN 100 WORDS Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little stach and no sugar. Keep intake to levelas that support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climbs, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix theses elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity allows. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports. Keep workouts short and intense - this is an entire blog post in and of itself. For now lets just focus on aerobic vs anaerobic activity. Remember we talked about 3 Energy Pathways. In simplest terms 2 of them, Phosophagen & Glycolitic, are developed primarily through anaerobic training; activity lasting several minutes OR LESS. While the 3rd, Oxidative, is developed through aerobic training, activity in excess of several minutes. Aerobic training allows us to efficiently engage in low power, extended efforts. It trains our Cardio/Respiratory Endurance and Stamina and decreases body fat. All good things. However extended aerobic activity has a pronounced tendency to decrease anaerobic capacity, muscle mass, Strength, Speed, and Power. Not good. Anaerobic training also benefits our cardiovascular function and burns fat. It also has the unique capacity to dramatically improve Strength, Speed, and Power. However it does NOT decrease Aerobic capacity. In fact when properly structured anaerobic training will produce high levels aerobic ability without the wasting effects of high volume aerobic training. (Read THIS for more insight.) What am I getting at? Anaerobic training improves Strength, Speed, Power, Cardio/Respiratory Endurance, and Stamina without negatively affecting Aerobic capacity. Too much aerobic training will negatively affect your anaerobic capacity, waste muscle, and in turn decrease your strength, speed, and power. This allows us to easily conclude that spending the majority of our time training in an anaerobic state will create the most efficacy in the most efficient manner. Well gain fitness quicker, which means well get healthier faster. This is why we program short intense workouts, individuals can not sustain an anaerobic effort beyond a few minutes. Our MetCons are designed to push you anaerobically, thus the time caps. These force proper scaling of movements and weights. Completing a MetCon in 20min that was designed to be finished in 7min does nothing for your anaerobic capacity. Giving you little reason to rest (such as transitioning from movement to movement) is one reason why we keep most workouts to couplets and triplets. The other reason is when movements are properly paired a balance is created allowing for maximum effort in each. There are lots of strength days because getting stronger will allow you to move more weight faster. Which in turns increase the intensity of the workout and pushes the anaerobic threshold further. Spending the bulk of your training time in short, intense bouts of activity will get you fit faster. I want you to remember this next statement comes from an Ultra-Runner who has completed multiple 5+ hour runs over rock, root, and trail. I LOVE spending long hours exerting myself along the trails, but I learned this truth years ago : Long MetCons do not efficiently increase your fitness. Simply put they test it. This is why the bulk of training is spent in short, intense bouts of activity, with the occasional long grinding workout that tests your fortitude and capacity. Long (semi)intense workouts beat your body up, leaving it depeleted and unable to train. Short workouts allow for maximum intensity and recovery. Thus allowing for more training. Our goal is to give you the tools to become healthier, in a manner that allows you to continue exploring that health/fitness for as long as possible. We use the most effective means at our disposal to reach that goal. This is why we program the way we do. If you’re still not convinced then I challenge you to the experiment of N=1. This means try it for yourself. REALLY try it, follow our program for 6 weeks under these guidlines. Do 4 - 5 of our Daily WOD’s p/week. Do NOT create your own workouts, jump into your buddies weekend shenanigans, or try and do “more”. Scale appropriately, get under the time caps, push that intensity. Lift heavy during the strength portion of the workout. Don’t skip a WOD because it looks easy, boring, too short, or any other reason other than you’re too tired and/or beat up to properly execute the WOD. If you feel like you need to do more you either a) You didn’t use enough intensity b) You should spend that time working on Mobility or Skill work. Drop all your other ideas of what you think you need to do. Forget about putting in those extra miles or that one loooong MetCon a week. Following our programming for 6 weeks and see where it takes you. After 6 weeks evaluate how you feel about your fitness, health, and training. Then decide if our training program is what you’re looking for. Eat Clean - Train Smart - Live Easy Speed - See more at: crossfitdistinction/2013/11/programming-why-we-do-what-we-do.html#sthash.qybV7fvz.dpuf
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 18:07:25 +0000
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